Former South Carolina QB will transfer to Group of 5 school
A former South Carolina quarterback has found a new school.
On Tuesday afternoon, 247 Sports reported that former Gamecock QB Air Noland signed with the Memphis Tigers. The school announced the move soon after.
Noland, a former four-star quarterback and Top-60 prospect in America, signed with Ohio State out of high school, but entered the transfer portal after just one year with the Buckeyes. It came as quite a shock that Noland transferred to South Carolina considering that LaNorris Sellers was returning as the Gamecocks starter.
But Noland seemed excited to sit behind Sellers for a season, learn South Carolina’s offense and potentially put himself in a position to start in 2026.
That, of course, didn’t go to plan.
The Gamecocks fired offensive coordinator Mike Shula in the middle of the season. Sellers decided to return to South Carolina after a down redshirt sophomore season. And, well, Noland wasn’t in line to play at USC anytime soon.
For most of the 2025 season, Noland was the Gamecocks’ fourth-string quarterback behind Sellers, Luke Doty and true freshman Cutter Woods. Though Doty graduated, the Gamecocks brought in four-star prospect Landon Duckworth to the program, meaning Noland was going to have competition for even the third-string job in 2026.
Unsurprisingly, he hit the transfer portal. In 2025, Noland only appeared in two games for South Carolina, making an appearance in the fourth quarter of the Gamecocks’ wins over S.C. State Coastal Carolina. He completed 2-of-3 passes for 13 yards.
At Memphis, he’ll play under first-year head coach Charles Huff, who came from Southern Mississippi. Noland will also have stiff competition for the starting job. West Florida (DII) transfer QB Marcus Stokes — a former Top-25 QB in the nation — signed with the Tigers last week.
South Carolina transfer portal departures
Accounting only for scholarship players. New school in parentheses.
- QB Air Noland (Memphis)
- TE Michael Smith (Syracuse)
- WR Brian Rowe Jr. (UCLA)
- WR Vandrevius Jacobs (Miami)
- OL Josiah Thompson
- OL Boaz Stanley (Purdue)
- OL Rodney Newsom Jr.
- OL Nick Sharpe (Michigan State)
- OL Trovon Baugh (Texas A&M)
- OL Cason Henry (Louisville)
- OL Tree Babalade (Nebraska)
- OL Jatavius Shivers
- DL Zavion Hardy (Baylor)
- DL Jaylen Brown (LSU)
- LB Jaron Willis (Kansas)
- LB Taeshawn Alston
- DB Myles Norwood
This story was originally published January 13, 2026 at 4:26 PM.
